The situation in war-torn Chechnya is far from normal, contrary to official
Russian statements, a leading human rights activist and member of the Russian
parliament says.

"The war in Chechnya has become a typical guerrilla war, even though
there are no open battles and war activities," lawmaker Sergei Kovalev said
during a visit to Washington this week.

Mr. Kovalev criticized Moscow's peace plan for the breakaway republic, saying
that a democratic referendum on a new Chechen constitution is not possible under
the circumstances. Russian troops have clashed with separatists in Chechnya for
more than eight years.

Russia has scheduled a March 23 referendum on the new constitution, which
will reiterate Chechnya's status as part of Russia. It is to be followed by
elections by the end of the year.

Memorial, a private human rights group in Russia, said that during the first
three weeks of January, 22 civilians were killed in Chechnya and 61 detained, 29
of whom have since disappeared.

Speaking at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington on
Thursday, Mr. Kovalev said the discovery of mass graves in Chechnya indicates
the operation of "death squads" throughout the republic.

Mr. Kovalev said bodies in those mass graves are typically blown up with
explosives to complicate identification.

"I think that circumstances of the discovery of these corpses show the
planned nature of the atrocities and exclude the possibility of accidents,"
he said.

"It would be wrong to say that there is a war in Chechnya right now.
There are single accidents, and there are groups rivaling and fighting each
other," Sergei Yastrzhembsky, a spokesman for Russian President Vladimir
Putin, said at the National Press Club during a recent visit to Washington.

Mr. Yastrzhembsky described the situation in Chechnya as stable and
improving.

The New York-based Human Rights Watch calls the referendum
"strange," in part because Russian troops occupying the region are
allowed to vote.

Mr. Kovalev said the expression of free will is impossible in modern-day
Chechnya.